Indulge in fun carnival treats for Fat Tuesday

Fun fare for Fat Tuesday

This Fat Tuesday, feel that festive vibe and splurge on some classic carnival food. It’s not just for summer.

Rio celebrates Carnival. New Orleans enjoys Mardi Gras. Venice masquerades. This Fat Tuesday, feel that festive vibe and splurge on some classic carnival food. It’s not just for summer.

“Personally, I love carnival food,” said author Ann Hazan of Wayne. “I think it’s sort of like reckless abandon. Coming from a nutrition major, every once in a while it’s fun to let go and just enjoy this stuff.”

She and Irina Smith co-wrote “The Reading Terminal Market Cookbook,” which includes favorites like Pennsylvania Dutch funnel cake and creamy fudge — a simplified version with sweetened condensed milk.

“It’s delicious. It’s creamy, but you don’t have to worry about the candy thermometer and the soft-ball stage,” Hazan noted. “We wanted to have recipes in the book where people could do them easily.”

Funnel cake, for example, may be “a little messy to make,” but it’s not hard. And “kids love it!”

Just remember: “Keep your finger on top of the funnel opening until you get it over to the frying pan. Otherwise, you’ll have drips,” she said with a laugh. And “have good cleaning supplies available.”

Popularized at the Kutztown Folk Festival, funnel cake traces its roots to Arabic and Persian dishes, explained Hazan, who grew up with a yeast-risen Greek version.

Funnel cake “was brought to this country by the Germans, and when it was brought here, they made it with baking soda,” she added.

On the savory side, try the chili dog recipe from Franks A-Lot, featuring draft beer, coffee and “chili powder to give it a little zip.”

And for a twist on tradition, how about a lobster corn dog?

“It’s a fun food, and then you bite into it and you get that gourmet taste,” said John Serock of John Serock Catering in West Chester, whose Parmesan truffle popcorn also elevates carnival fare to new heights.

“I love the flavor of it,” he described. “You get that earthiness from the truffles, but it’s not overpowering.”

“Truffle oil’s not cheap, but it goes a long way.”

PHOTO BY EMILY RYAN Have a funnel and a frying pan? No need to wait for a fair or carnival. Enjoy this Pennsylvania Dutch funnel cake at home.

PHOTO BY EMILY RYAN This creamy fudge doesn’t require a candy thermometer and is “much easier to make,” says cookbook author Ann Hazan.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO BY GEOFF PATTON Glazed fastnachts are shown at the Rising Sun Inn in this 2014 file photo.